Accidentally in Code

Tag: berlin

  • Berlin, March 2015

    Berlin, March 2015

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    I went back to Berlin to… tie up loose ends, I guess you could say. Mostly I worked and caught up with friends but I did have time for a little touristing in one of my favourite cities.

    Stayed at the Movenpick which was nice, and after discovering it was a twin room (the horror!) was actually upgraded to a suite. Got brunch at Chipps (twice!) and Aroma (lovely), and had lunch at YamYam (tasty) and dinner at Dolores (spicy) and Shiso Burger, and ice cream at Amorino, juice at Daluma. Went back to my old neighbourhood and was nostalgic with dinner at Reischale, brunch at Roamers, and of course Tabibito.

    Took a walk through the park in the centre, Tiergarten, past the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe and where I was finally able to see the Homosexual Memorial (charming and voyeuristic). There was also something nearby called the Global Stone Project. Also went up the TV tower which is cool, something I did my first trip to Berlin but not since.

    Went to the Dali museum. I’ve written about how Dali was a pretty reprehensible human being but I remain obsessed with his art. It was a small collection with some quite dark pieces, and drawings. Expensive but worth a visit if you love his art. I really love large collections by one artist, because you get to see the recurring themes and how they evolve.

    Anyway what can I say? I love Berlin and I’ll be back again — soon.

     

  • Things I May Never Get Used To In Berlin

    Things I May Never Get Used To In Berlin

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    I have loved spending a few months in Berlin. I’ve loved my leisurely exploration of the city, and the fabulous people I have met.

    But there are some things I may never not find bizarre.

    Lack of credit cards. Most places are cash only! There aren’t even that many ATMs! This drives me mad.

    Fizzy water. Urgh. Expats seem to use willingness to drink this as a measure of how much you have amalgamated.

    Only one water fountain at the gym. I’m convinced that this is because water fountains dispense only still water.

    No kettlebells at the gym. Apparently this is because people were letting go and injuring each other? Bizarre. I found a really nice gym, but I do feel a bit like I’ve been transported back to the 00s there.

    Cyclists on the pavement. The cycle paths I have learned to look out for (after a couple of near misses). But people cycling on the pavement? Sometimes whilst talking on their mobile phones? Ai.

    Dogs, everywhere. I am terrified of dogs and in Berlin they are everywhere. On streets, in restaurants, tied up outside the grocery store, just roaming around.

    Waiting to cross the road on a deserted street. I don’t have the patience not to jaywalk.

    Grocery stores shut on Sundays. This requires a degree of organisation around food beyond what I am capable of.

  • Things I Love About Berlin

    Things I Love About Berlin

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    It’s been a great couple of months in Berlin. I feel like I could live here forever, but I’m not going to act on that yet. After-all, leaving is one of my special talents.

    But, I made a list of some of my favourite things.

    So walkable. I’ve taken public transport less than 10 times whilst I’ve been here.

    Loads to do. If you follow my this week posts you’ll see that I explore somewhere new each week. I was worried at first that it would be too dark, because the history here is very brutal, but actually there is a lot to do and see that doesn’t relate to the horrors of WWII.

    Abandoned places. So many that there is a blog all about it! I love abandoned places (I visited the abandoned theme park, and the abandoned airport).

    Great, cheap, food. Most meals are <10EUR, and I’ve come to think of meals over 15EUR as incredibly decadent.

    Chilled vibe. Berlin feels pretty relaxed, especially compared to say, London. Pedestrians can walk slowly without fear of repercussions. People are nice.

    Friendly. People in Berlin have been super welcoming to me, and I’ve been lucky to make some great friends.

    Quality of life is really good. Mostly the combination of all of these, but my overall impression is that people live in Berlin because they value that. Tech workers work hard, but not crazy hours. People will make last minute plans, or meet in the afternoon for coffee.

    People visit. I’ve had visitors from Canada, NZ, and the UK. The combination of cheap flights from London and the city itself brings people over.

    Bike lanes. If I actually move to Berlin, the first thing I will do is get a bike – there are bike lanes everywhere which is amazing. (Then, maybe I will get a bowl. And a hedgehog).

    Architecture. The buildings are beautiful, and wildly varying from one another. In general, I love cities where you can see the sky.

    Water. I love living near water, and I have been living really close to a river. There’s also an island in the centre of town (Museum Island).

  • Berlin, December 2014

    Berlin, December 2014

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    I came to Berlin for a few days in December to meet friends over from Australia. It was a pretty relaxed trip, as I knew I would be back in January for longer. There is a lot of great historical stuff to see in Berlin, but it can be quite confronting, so it can be hard to do museum after museum – I need time to decompress in between!

    I stayed at the Westin which was OK. No free internet, which I resent. Their breakfast buffet was highly recommended but is obscenely expensive and not worth it. I had brunch at the nearby Cafe Einstein instead, which was OK.

    Like my last trip to Berlin, the highlight was the walking tour. It covers many of the must-see sights, including Museum Island, Neue Wache, the Brandeberg Gate, The Memorial to The Murdered Jews of Europe (this memorial is incredible, you walk through and these black pillars rise over your head), and where Hitler’s bunker used to be – now it’s just a parking lot, and deep below the surface is a layer of re-enforced concrete.

    Of course we also went to Checkpoint Charlie, and saw some of the remains of the Berlin Wall.

    We also went to some of the Christmas markets which are quite cute, including Weihnachtszauber Gendarmenmarkt. And I walked out along the river towards Neue Welt, and wondered around the centre including Museum Island.

  • This Week

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    Life

    I packed up and moved to Berlin for a couple of months! Already I’ve hung out with some new and interesting people who live here, and had a visitor so that is great.

    Still coughing which is horrible, but finally made it to the gym again where I was a bit pathetic. But at least I went! Replaced yet another Jawbone UP band.

    Took a little road trip to Nottingham for my favourite iced tea which was great. Totally worth the hours drive each way!

    Also, have a plan to rehabilitate myself on the tech industry…

    Work

    Getting feedback and delving into C to optimise some things which is a bit of a nightmare – not the best kind of coding when under the weather! And working on some writing projects etc.

    Also decided to commit 2015 to being independent, making things and consulting. Pretty excited to keep travelling, I need to decide where to live next!

    Places

    Got dinner with a friend in Leicester at Turtle Bay (okay, the mashed sweet potatoes were not everything I had hoped for). In Nottingham I had lunch at Miss Korea (bento box – very nice), a crepe at Aubrey’s Traditional Creperie (lovely!) and iced tea from Cha Time, oh I love Cha Time.

    In Berlin, co-working at Agora where we also had lunch, brunch at Chipps (so great, I regret not going there when I was here in December!) and Lagari (great), dinner at Masaniello (Italian, okay), Tabibito (sushi, so cheap, so tasty), and  Wirtshaus Max und Moritz (traditional German, very nice). Also: waffle and tea at Lux (very nice), tiny cupcakes and hot chocolate at Tigertörtchen (divine).

    We stopped in at Neue Wache, and went to the DDR Museum which was cool – very informative about life in East Germany before the wall came down.

    Media

    Watching Veep Season 3 (exciting!). Reading, still, The Black Swan and Professional Android Application Development. Novels: The Difference a Day Makes, which I quite liked, and My Favourite Goodbye, which I’m finding a bit hard going, the men in it are a bit sexist and it is grating on me. Also the way that a woman critiques her reaction to her boyfriend pressuring her for sex (and him, and their mutual friend) made me uncomfortable.

    Also watched a documentary a friend made, which was beautiful [trailer].

    Product links Amazon.

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